₦airaland Forum

I honestly can't wait for this tourney to kick off. There will be many red-eyed days at work for sure. And to chip in on the discussion about progression from youth level to senior level, below is a post I made two years ago when this same team, of course with a few additions now, just qualified for the U-17 world finals. Would like to hear your thoughts onthe points raised.

With the Golden Eaglets recent qualification for the finals of the FIFA U-17 World Cup in the UAE, the perennial question of what becomes of these talented youngsters has started to ring out again. The age long (no pun intended) argument about age falsification within the nation’s youth teams is an ever constant colossus that usually overshadows whatever laurels the U-17’s or U-20’s win.

Nigeria has won the U-17 tourney three times and has played in the U-20 finals twice, throwing up a pool of amazing youngsters that showed so much promised and left Nigerians dreaming of a strong Super Eagles that would one day win the World Cup. However, that dream is still but a dream.

One factor that most Nigerians believe is responsible for this failure to transfer youth team success to the senior level is the tendency for youth players to falsify their ages. Many Nigerians tend to ask, “What happened to the stars of the all-conquering U-17 teams we had before?” Where are the likes of Peter Anosike, Ibrahim Babangida and Sambo Choji of the class of ’93; Femi Opabunmi, Soga Sambo and Temile Omonigho of 2001, King Osanga, Macauley Chrisantus, Yakubu Alfa of 2007? And these questions are not out of place.
However, the truth is that this phenomenon is not only peculiar to Nigeria. Usually, only a handful of youth players ever go on to have glorious careers at senior level; in most cases, between three to five players per squad.

It is very easy to say Gianluigi Buffon and Francesco Totti played for Italy in 1993, Andres Iniesta and Fernando Torres played for Spain in 2001, or Toni Kroos played for Germany in 2007 as did Eden Hazard and Christian Benteke for Belgium and Borjan and David De Gea for Spain. But how many of their team mates can we remember? How many of the squad of 18/21 players then, play for their senior teams today?
Where are the promising stars of yore like Florent Sinama Pongolle and Anthony Le Tallec (France U-17 2001) who were quickly snapped up by Liverpool? Pongolle was the only one lucky to get a single cap for the senior team. What of Fran Merida and Daniel Aquino (Spain U-17 2007) who have never been capped by Spain. Merida who was once an Arsenal youngster now plays for a lowly team in Brazil. Where is Richard Sukuta-Pasu (Germany U-17 2007) who scored four goals on their way to third-place?

The same is the trend at U-20 level. You only need to do a comprehensive research to discover that most youth players from the U-17 and U-20’s, even those from winning squads, usually just fade of into their local leagues and never get more than one to five senior caps if they are lucky. Many never do.

Below are a few reasons why youth players and Nigerian youth players in particular, never make it to the senior team.

1. A Large Biennial Pool of Players
The U-17 and U-20 World Cups take place every two years. This means that large pools of about 42 youth players are showcased on the world stage constantly every two years. That is 84 in four years, and 126 in six years. So imagine Nigeria, or any nation at that playing at U-17 and U-20 consecutively for six years and producing 126 potential senior team players. How many will end up making the cut?

2. Quality Senior players often play for over a decade
The chances of youth team players breaking into the senior team is also limited because their senior colleagues usually play for many years thus shutting them out of the senior squad. How many youth players between 2001 and 2008 stood a chance of displacing Joseph Yobo, Austin Okocha, Kanu Nwankwo, Vincent Enyeama, John Utaka, Obafemi Martins and the likes from the senior team? You would have to be exceptionally talented and extraordinarily lucky to do so. In the same vein, players like Asier Illaramendi, Nacho and Borjan (Spain U17 2007) will probably never get more than the one or two senior caps as long as Xavi Alonso, Gerard Pique and the like of Xavi and Iniesta continue to play for La Roja, just like Haruna Lukman and Rabiu Ibrahim.

3. The Quality of the Local League
A lot of youth players go on to enjoy their footballing careers playing in their national leagues. So many English players that we know from watching so much of the EPL played at youth level. We watch many former youth players in the La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and other top European Leagues even when they never play for the seniors. Can we say the same for Nigeria?

Most of our youth team players end up in the back leagues of Europe simply because they will settle for any deal that will pay foreign currency. At least with that they can support their families back home.

Yes some of our former youth players like Akpan Bassy have had long careers in the local league. Some have returned home after misadventures in Europe. But how many of them do we know of? How can we even know of them when we hardly follow the league, nor do we get to watch it on television?

4. Bad Career Choices
This is no doubt the bane of many fledgling careers. Our youngsters in a bid to play in Europe will settle for anything, anywhere. From Malta to Cyprus, Bulgaria, Qatar, Vietnam and Moldova; if there is cash to be earned, our players will go. Many do not seek to try and develop their game, but instead join clubs that will only turn them into a mediocre. There is no way you can play in such lower European leagues with players who with all due respect are not of a superior class and it will not affect your game. Even players like Pongolle and Le Tallec as stated above, who played with big names at Liverpool faded away. How much more someone playing in Malta or Liechtenstein?

In reality, it would be very myopic to just relegate the reason why our former youth internationals never graduate to play for the senior national team to just a matter of age falsification. There are many other factors to be considered. Only if these factors can be addressed systematically can we hope to see youngsters like Iheanaco, Yahaya, Awoniyi, Success and the many more that will come after them graduate seamlessly to the Super Eagles.

edwife:
Kai this Man U na mumu team,with all the beating they give arsenal in the first half,na so they just dash them draw...

Is it your 'consign'?

9jatatafo:
Top 3 nor easy ooo. Arsenal trophy be Top 3. If u nor be CFC fan don't bash me ooo. Only BLUES fans get mouth. Hahahahaah

Mtscheeew. Shoro niyen?

It is confirmed, Van Gaal smokes weed. The moment I saw Blackett, I knew calamity was knocking at our door.

edwife:
Arsenal comeback with plan B if not.......

If not you will trek to Sambisa. Plan B kor, plan Z ni.

This article is smack on the money.

I graduated with a 3rd class due to some issues with my course adviser and a bit of disillusion with the entire system, although that is a story for another day. Anyway, getting a job afte NYSC became an issue. Even when a few people tried to help, it was always a case of "oh, if only you had a 2.1 or at least a 2.2 we could help". But one thing I told myself was never to let that define who I am. I knew I wasn't a dullard. My grades in my final 3 semesters attested to the fact that I could have done better. So, what I did was turn to my passion.

I got a low paying job doing something I was very good at and for which my degree and grade was not a factor and used it as a springboard to gain some work experience. While on the job I took a couple of professional course. While on the course I met with a number of people, one of which led to my next job and more work experience there led to another job, alway with rising pay and better opportunities. That's networking.

It's been some 14 years since I graduated and I thank God for where I am today which is a directorial level. I will of course say that it was by grace. The way things worked out sometimes were just divine.

Most importantly, never feel inferior and never give up.

TheGoodJoe:

Maybe, there is an age grade to be part of the B team. Players above that age might search for other clubs if they can not make it into the first team. My opinion though.

I think you are right on this. From the little I discovered from playing Football Manager, in England once a player clocks 24 and hasn't become a first time regular, they are free tojoin another club and the parent club gets compensation.

I wonder why Chelsea isn't shooting from outside. Are they trying to play like Arsenal? They should just not lose this game o.

nzeobi:
When APC said during their campaigns that they are okay with privatization of the DISCOS and will privatize the GENCO a union is here making noise.
The fact is the union wanted govt to own PHCN so that they can continue siphoning from govt budget

Your head dey there. Hopefully the incoming government will scrutinize the current arrangement, but if this union thinks we will return PHCN to the hands of corrupt government employees who see civil service as a place to laze around and feed fat, they are joking.

I don't know who I dislike more, policemen or NEPA officials.

Missberrypop, where you dey? These haters need some cupcakes.

edwife:
Goal...

E shock you? Oya dance that shoki again make I see.

edwife:
Happy? more than happy!

https://stream1.gifsoup.com/view8/20150318/5185748/shoki-animation-o.gif


Mukina where is my gif?

Hahaha, you nor well o.

chidexxy007:
was silently looking out for u.... didn't wanna shout ur name..
hwfa.... u don come bad belle us abi.... anyway # itzallowed

Na so she dey do. Edwife, I see you o. Happy now?

Gejpresident:
The POWER bestowed on NIGERIA president by the our constitution is enormous!!!!! President Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan has these powers in his hand to weild his sword to his advantage... he could have decide to take a drastic step and lots of lives will be lost, he could
(1) Annul the on-going Presidential election and stop any further announcement just like IBB did in June 12, 1993 presidential election.
(2) Sack Professor Attahiru Jega.
(3) Declared a state of emergency in all states.
(4) Divide Nigeria back into Eastern Region, Northern Region, Western Region and Mid-Western with full federalism.
(5) Appoint military administrators to manage all the regions.
But he did NOT. Indeed he is a man of peace.
May the Almighty God bless GEJ. Amen


no peace for the wicked apc
failure is for them

Er, I'm guessing OBJ and Yar Adua also had these powers. They all deserve sainthood.

The boy on the right who is all dressed up must be the village chief's son.

freecocoa:
I do agree on the stress part, but what if she could handle it and actually offered to do so? All I'm saying is, I don't see any reason why there's a thread about it, people are allowed to do whatever they can that isn't a crime, aren't they?

Well as they say in Alaska, whatever works for you. If it works for her, no wahala. I once saw a bride crying her eyes out over those who had not eaten at her wedding. Not for me. I totally chose to enjoy my day and so did my bride. We nor look Uche face.

samobaba:
@OP, you are a disgrace. Most of you people saying maybe she doesn't have friends to help her. Is any of you married yet? That I doubt. When your big day comes, that's when you will know if you have friends or not. They will steal your meat and your souvenirs. What she did Was to reserve some food for those who will be bitter they were not served. The easiest way to make enemies on your wedding day is for people to put you for mind say den no eat for your wedding. That is a good woman, give her a medal.

Bro, if you bother your head with such stuff you'll just have high blood pressure on your wedding day. My wife and I made a decision not to get involved wit who had eaten or not at our wedding. We had instructed our train on what we wanted and we left it at that. We never left the high table except to dance and thank guests at the very end. We simply agreed to enjoy our day and not let anything stress us.

Truth is people who have eaten five plates and stashed enough souvenirs will still complain if it's in their nature. Anybody who accosts you later, simply apologise and blame it on the service guys, your train or the blood rain.

freecocoa:
I don't think she's doing anything wrong.

The wedding's prolly over and she might have just been giving food to people who need it, what's the fuss about?

Freecocoa, no do, no do, those hungry dudes could have given her 5 minutes to change out of her wedding garb. Haba. And if they are still at the reception venue, then somebody else should be helping with that. A wedding ceremony is so stressful physically and mentally. Those around her are not thoughtful at all.

Bollinger:
I get that, so where does he sleep?

Sorry, I missed this. Bruv, he can sleep in many places. Easiest way, find an Hausa man or Hausa community close by. Those guys and communal living are 5 and 6. A friend of mine who got into Lagos from Kaduna at about 2AM, slept in Oshodi. He simply talked with the Agberos there and they gave him a mat to sleep on under the bridge till dawn. In my estate, most of the Hausa okada riders gather to sleep on mats in front of a shopping complex. They just park their bikes and pick a position. You will usually see them there if you come in very late or leave home very early.

You probably have a very sheltered upbringing, which is no crime. But in the ghetto, boys dey sleep for road o!

Diplenty:
I think Primary school is way too early.I clearly remember that we had this in secondary school btw (1991-93, JOGS) & it had its own consequences. People who were thought to be natural leaders lost out to popularity contests. I remember a particular year when a tough guy we all thought was ideal for labour prefect lost at the polls because his opponent was a jovial bow-legged guy , who all considered to be malleable. Eventually the school had to annul the election results & impose prefects from the contestants

From following year, you will pick a nomination form & the teachers do the voting

UP JOGS. I was in the school at that time, but in my opinion it was a good step in the right direction. Definitely, the process can't be perfect, but that is also part of the learning process. Eventually, as students we would have learnt not to vote based on sentiments or just mere popularity. Rather than scrap the process the school could have introduced us to things like referendums and impeachment processes to remove a prefect who isn't performing. We would have learnt a lot about democratic principles in the process. You will agree that there were also prefects selected or voted in by teachers who were incompetent.

It is sad that today in Nigeria, most adults don't even know simple things about how government works in a democracy. That's why you will see people who think the President or Governor has absolute power. Even legislators don't know what they are doing. We need to teach the next generation right.

Jackeeh:
It should be by selection of those who merit it. Not politically via an election. That's my point.

And who decides who merits what? The Headmaster or Principal? Teachers? And what criteria is used to judge merit? Academics and good behaviour only? If there are 10 prefect slots and there are 30 brilliant students, say across 6 arms in SS3 (Grade12) who determines who is entitled to be a prefect and what criteria will disqualify one from the other?

We need to realize that scoring all A's while good does not necessarily bestow leadership qualities on a pupil. Besides, selection only tends to give a sense of entitlement, I'm brilliant, so I'm entitled to become a prefect. That works in primary and secondary school, then the guy gets to university and discovers that being brilliant won't make him SUG President. He now realizes that he needs social skills. He needs to know how to relate with people. The poor guy who only knows how to lock himself up in the room suddenly realizes that he has to interact and solve other peoples problems on campus.

And we wonder why very few intellectuals run for public office in Nigeria? Education must be balanced.

curiouses:
I think primary school is way too early to introduce kids to electoral system. Secondary school is reasonable enough, at least they'd have learnt about civics to guide them through the process.

I beg to differ. I learnt civics in primary school back in the 80's. Most of the basic things I know about being a responsible citizen, I learnt in primary school. Simple things like not littering the environment, queuing, using zebra crossings, traffic lights, respect for elders, the spirit of good sportsmanship, having respect for national symbols like the national flag and the coat of arms etc. Till today, most of those ideals have not deserted me. I still find it hard to do otherwise from what I learnt and I'm shocked when I see other Nigerians break rules with such impunity.

Now, teaching kids the principles of democracy at primary school level I believe will help to develop more democratically inclined adults later in life. It will help to teach them how to exercise healthy competition, sportsmanship, respecting the rights of others and most of all to understand how government works and how it affects their lives.

We tried this once when I was in secondary school, and it was fun. All of a sudden seniors who were wicked found out how important juniors were when they started canvassing for our votes. A lot of them got to discover that to win their fellow students votes they had to be sound academically, they had to treat their fellow students right irrespective of age, class or whatever. That is a valuable lesson young people need to learn. Sadly, our teachers scuttled the process after one session.

edwife:
choi

https://i.imgur.com/6PyCApE.jpg

You nor well o.

justicesky24:
Man u fans how market

Chai! Market nor good today o. This Everton don do us strong thing o. Bet why?

Bollinger:
What about night travel? You are talking like Nigeria is an epitome of security. Of course a guy traveling alone is an attractive target.

Check my earlier post where I analysed how his journey can be achieved without having to travel late at night.

Bollinger:
You are right about that. The key word is nomad. Nomads never move out on their own. They move in a pack for security. Which means that the gentle could not have done it on his own. So, who was there with him? I don't care who you are, no one can walk that distance without security in mind.

How much security will a guy in T-shirt and jeans and a small back pack require if he travels only during the day? He is not exactly an attractive target for a gang of robbers when SUVs and luxury buses are passing with better prospects. I'm sure one could walk along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway during the day without fear of attack

I wonder if most of the people saying that it is impossible for Suleiman Hashimu to have walked from Lagos to Abuja in 19 days have even bothered to do the math before reaching their conclusion? Well, let's look at the possibility objectively.

The distance from Lagos to Abuja is about 747km. Now, a healthy person should be able to cover 1km in 12- 20 minutes at a normal pace. For ease of hourly calculation, let's use a quarter of an hour, which is 15 minutes. So at 15min/km, one should be able to cover 4km in one hour.

Now for Hashimu to have completed the journey in 19 days, he would have to do approximately 40km per day. At 4km every hour, he would need 10 hours per day. Impossible you still say? Won't he rest, won't he sleep? Let's see.

If he sets out every day at 5am, which is when we Lagos folks jump on the road to beat traffic, and walks till 10am, long before the sun gets to its hottest, he would have done 5hrs. So, he has a meal and sleeps till he sets out again at 3pm. He walk another 5hrs till 8pm and retires for the day. That is 10 hours and 40km achieved. The dude gets a full night's rest of about 7 hours, which is more than most of us can dream of and continues again the next day. Is this any impossible routine? 10 hours of walking, 14 hours of free time to eat, sleep and do whatever? Think about it.

Lastly, at the London 2012 Olympics, Sergey Kirdyapkin of Russia won the gold medal for the 50km walk in a time of 3hrs 35mins 59secs. Now that distance is 10km more than what Hashimu has to cover in a day. We all know how fast the Olympic walking is though.

In my opinion, the possibility of the task is not in question. It is very possible to do Lagos to Abuja on foot in 19 days. The only thing you can question is Hashimu's integrity. Did he truly walk all the way, or did he cut corners along the way.

Bollinger:
The gentleman's claims can be easily verified. Embarking on such a journey would require funds and a place to stay. Where are the hotel reciepts? He is not going to trek all day and all night. He would have had to bed somewhere. What with the insecurity in the country. He'd be a fool to do that.

Er, not verifying or disputing but seriously, hotel receipts? Do Fulani herdsmen stay in hotels when they embark on their nomadic journeys too. Na wa for you o.

Oga Charles, I thought you also said pre-election that you where going to dance all the way to Aso Rock. Do you need Hashimu's map? Or is that now a lost cause?

millionaireman:
General in democracy sounds great before your ears, but not before the ears of modern people. People who served as General in their country's military but won elections to become their country's presidency do not use the title General in a democracy. Some thing is missing in this search of enabling titles for Buhari.

You guys are fast turning this country to the downside.

Er, has he been sworn in as President?

tejiritex:
Nigerians just love waste

They are shouting "change". Why don't they equip the Police. Make we check who get the contract to supply the vehicles

CHANGE. ....

Have you asked the Police force in Lagos, and they told you the Lagos State government hasn't been equipping them even when it really is the FG's responsibility.

francisdfreak:
did anyone notice how comments from PDP supporters reduced this morning? that's because most pdp guys have lives and businesses outside nairaland to take care of unlike apc paid touts who spend the whole day on nairaland working for their pay.

Oga, be careful when you point a finger at others. You've got three pointing back at you. What are you doing here this early morning? Are you an APC tout? Me? I'm on leave. What's your story?